Cotton harvester with specific spindle slat assembly



May 20, 1958 M. D. RUST COTTON HARVESTER WITH SPECIFIC SPINDLE SLAT ASSEMBLY s sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug. 17, 1954 INVENTOR. Mack D. @usf mmm/@Ys May 20, 1958 Filed Aug. 17, 1954 M. D. RUST COTTON HARVESTER WITH SPECIFIC SPINDLE SLAT ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR. Mack D. APU sf @diw May 20, 1958 M. D. RusT 2,835,096 COTTON HARVESTER WITH SPECIFIC SPINDLE SLAT ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 17, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 22 F11-E |S /3 62 INVENTOR.

Mack D @usf A Trae/VE V5 Patented May 20, 1958 CTTN HARVESTER WITH SPECIFIC SPINDLE SLAT ASSEMBLY Mack D. Rust, Coalinga, Calif.

Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,370

4 Claims. (Cl. 56-42) This invention relates generally to cotton picking machines of the type making use of a plurality of rotating spindles for the removal of cotton fiber from the plant boll.

Conventional cotton picking machines of the rotating spindle type employ a large number of picking spindles arranged in vertically spaced rows. The spindles are adapted to progress successively through a picking zone in which they are thrust into the plants, a stripping zone in which cotton carried by the spindles is removed, and a moistening zone in which moisture is applied to the spindles before returning them to the picking zone. In one particular type of cotton picking machine, which can be referred to as the Rust type (see for example Patents 1,894,198, 2,058,514, 2,085,046 and 2,466,969) the spindles are carried by so-called slat and hinge assemblies, with the slats secured at their upper and lower ends to endless carriers. Each spindle is provided with a driving roller which engages a friction drivingmember whereby the spindle is rotated as it progresses through the picking zone. The slat assemblies which have been used in the past have been subject to certain disadvantages. The means used for attaching the ends of the slats to the endless carriers have not been entirely satisfactory. Although an effort has been made to make the slats quickly detachablevfrom the carriers, to facilitate replacement or repair, the hinge hangers or brackets employed for this purpose have given trouble in eld operations. The attaching means used for this purpose has been subject to accidental detachment, and under certain eld conditions may afford diiiculty in making repairs or replacements. The means for supporting and journaling the spindles have had undesirable features, particularly in that journal wear has frequently been excessive, and the spindles with their drive rollers have not been readily replaceable. In addition to the foregoing, the frame or body parts of many previous slat assemblies have lacked proper strength and have been subject to bending and twisting.

In general it is an object of the present invention to provide a slat assembly for wa cotton picking machine which overcomes the disadvantages pointed out above.

More specifically itis an object of the present invention to provide a slat assembly having improved means for.

detachably securing its ends to endless carriers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slat assembly having improved means for journaling and for removably retaining the cotton picking spindles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slat assembly having an improved frame or body of adequate lstrength to resist bending or twisting.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

l Figure l is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 1-1 of Figure 2 illustrating a slat assembly incorporating the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional View taken along the line 2 2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is fa front elevational view of a plurality of slat assemblies looking from the left in Figures l and 2 with parts omitted and other parts broken away and shown in section.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional detail taken along the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional detail taken along the line 5 5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an exploded view showing the manner in which spindles can be removed, and the parts of each slat hinge assembly.

Referring iirst to Figure 1 of the drawing, the slat assembly 10 consists of a main frame or body part 11, which carries a vertical row of spindles 12. Each spindle is provided with a drive roller 13, which is adapted to engage a strip 14 of suitable material to provide a frictiondrive capable of rotating the spindle while it passes through the picking zone. The strips 14 may be carried by any suitable means, and may be yieldably urged toward driving relation with the rollers by means such as disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 150,914 filed March 21, 1950, now Patent 2,699,638.

The journal mounting means for the spindles includes the mountings 15, which are rigidly attached to the main body part 11 by the connecting parts 16. One mounting 15 is provided for each pair of spindles. A modified mounting 17 is provided for the lowermost spindle, and this mounting is attached by member 18 to the main slat body part 11, as will be explained in greater detail. A similar construction is provided for the upper end of the slat.

The journals for each spindle are preferably provided by the journal bushings or blocks 21 and 22. These blocks are bored to provide a proper running clearance with respect to the spindles, and in section are non-circular, as for example square, as illustrated in Figure 3. Suitable anti-friction material can 'be used for the construction of these blocks. For example, I can use oil impregnated porous metals, or Various synthetic compounds such as nylon or Teon.

Special seating means is provided in conjunction with the body part 11, for seating the blocks 21 in such a manner that one may readily remove these blocks together with the spindles. Before describing such seating means, it may be pointed'out that the body part 11, which in effect forms the backbone structure for the slat, can be fabricated from sheet metal to have a cross-section substantially as illustrated in Figure 2. Within the body part 11 I provide, at spaced intervals along the length and 29 of the seat are of limited len'gth, as illustrated in Figure 1.

An opening 31 is provided in the front wall 26, to loosely accommodate the spindle. Also an opening 32 is formed in the rear wall, to accommodate the rear end of the block during assembly or removal. Note that the openings 32 and 3'1 are extended downwardly and upwardly respectively. The limited length of the walls 28 and 29, together with openings 31 and 32, permits each block and the spindle to be shifted to a position such as shown in Figure 6, to enable its removal. While the spindle and the block 21 are in horizontal position,

.or in other words at ,right Vangles to the length of the body part 11, the journal block 21 is adequately retained by the seat 23.

The construction of teach mounting `can Vbe best understood by reference to .Figure 3. it can he fabricated iof fsheetmetal as indicated, and the :upper and lower `ends form seats or saddles 36 for the journal blocks 22. The 4side walls 37 which define Vthe seats or saddles can be icut away on the contour line 3S, as shown in Figure l. The remote ends of both the seats 36 are open except insofar as they are closed by the removable member 39 v(Figure l). This member is in the form of a small box, which can be made of suitable material such `as sheet zmetal, and which 'is adapted to be clipped over the mounting l5 and retained thereon by friction or suitable latchting means. When Ain normal lposition the end walls 41 of this member extend across the blocks 22, thus locking these blocks within the seats 36. lt will be evident 'that when the member 39 is removed, either one or both of the associated spindles can be swung out of its seat 36 as shown in Figure 6, and then the spindle removed together with the journal blocks and the driving roller 13.

The parts 16 are in effect short cantilever members, which forni a rigid connection between the main body part l1 and the mountings 15.

the upper and lower walls 42 are curved to generally conform to the peripheries of the driving rollers y13.

Previous reference has been made to the mounting 17 and the member i3 at each end of the slat assembly. The member 18 can be made of a casting or forging of proper strength, and is suitably secured to the lower end of the body part itl, as by wel-:ling or brazing. Each member 1S serves to mount a removable hinge hanger or bracket 46. Each hinge bracket preferably consists of a mounting plate 47, which has the beveled or dove-tailed portions 48. One of these portions "e8 interfits a complementary portion 49 formed on member 18, and the other interlocks with one of the beveled portions 51 of the dovetailed locking lug S2. The lug 52 is carried Aby the screw 53 which is threaded in member 18. As shown particularly in Figure 4, it is desirable for plate 47 to be provided with a straight lug 54, which interlocks with the recess 56 in member 18, the latter recess also interrupting oneA of the beveled portions 49. This interlocking arrangement serves to insure a fixed location for the plate 47 relative to the member 1S.

lt will be evident that with the arrangement described above, one can remove the bracket 46 from the member 18 by loosening the screw 53 suiiciently far to permit the plate 47 to be removed relative to the beveled portions 49 and Si.

Each of the complete brackets 46 also includes the ofr'set portion 57, and an arm portion 5b. Arm portion Sti extends parallel to the plate 47. The free end of the arm portion 58 is provided with an opening 59 for accommodating the extended end 6l of a link pin 62. This link pin is a part of one of the endless carrier chains 63. The chain as illustrated in Figure l also includes guide rollers 64 which operate between the guide trackways 66 and 67 of the machine frame. Retraction of the link pin from the arm 58 is prevented by suitable means, such as the provision of washers 68 and cotter pin 69. The lower endless chain 63 in this instance is also shown serving to carry the devices 71 which are in the form of plates having lingers which engage the stalks of the plant, as the machine advances over a row of plants being picked.

While the picking spindles are passing through the picking zone of the machine, they extend parallel to each other, and substantially at right angle to the links of the carrier chains to which the slat assemblies are attached. This is substantially the position illustrated in the drawing. Itis desirable for the `brackets 46 to be provided with lugs 72, thereby limiting swinging of the brackets in They can be contoured .as illustrated particularly in Figure 3. ln this instance A a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 5. These lugs are shown carried by the olfset portions 57 of the brackets, and are each adapted to abut the arcuate surface 73 of the adjacent arm 58.

As previously stated the members 14 frictionally engage the peripheries of the drive rollers 13, whereby the rollers and spindles are rotated as the slat assemblies are moved through 4the picking zone. Members 14 can be attached to any suitable support means, or for this purpose I can utilize an arrangement substantially as illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 150,914 filed March 2l, 1950. Such means .consists of metal members 76 to which the members 14 are secured, and which in turn are secured to the members 77 that are movable relative to each other in a vertical direction. The members '77 serve to enclose a resilient tube 78, within which a predetermined tiuid pressure is maintained.

I claim:

l. in a cotton picking machine of the type having vertically disposed spindle carrying slats, a slat assembly comprising a main elongated and hollow body part, a Vplurality yof picking spindles, a driving roller mounted ad- 'jacent one end of each spindle, each spindle having a cotton picking .portion and journal portions adjacent both ends of the driving roller, `a pair of journal blocks on the journal portions of each spindle, vertically spaced rigid members secured cantilever fashion to one side of said main body part, means on the free ends of said members for releasably mounting the journal blocks on those eX- tremities of the spindles that are remote from the picking portions thereof, said main body part having vertically ,spaced openings for accommodating said spindles for normal operating positions of the same, with the spinldles in vertically spaced and parallel relationship and the lother journal blocks within said main body part, and means within the main body part for seating and releasably :retaining :said other journal blocks, said last means comprising a pair of horizontally disposed walls engaging the `upper and vlower surfaces of each of said other blocks, said walls being fixed within said main body part and lbeing oiset in the direction of the length of the associated spindle whereby the associated block can be retracted Ytogether with the spindle when the spindle is swung to la substantial angle with respect to its normal horizontal operating position.

2. A slat assembly as in claim l in which the mounting and retaining means for said first named journal 'block-s includes walls carried by the extremities of said members Aproviding recesses serving to accommodate the associated bushings, and a removable cup shaped member adapted to be attached over said last named walls to retain the associated journal block.

3. In a cotton picking machine of the type having vertically kdisposed spindle carrying slats, a slat assembly comprising a main tubular body part, a plurality of vertically spaced members attached to one side of said main body part .and extending laterally cantilever fashion from the same, a plurality of picking spindles, a drive roller secured to each spindle adjacent one end thereof, each spindle having a cotton picking portion and journal portions adjacent both ends of the driving roller, said main body part having openings therein serving to accommodate the picking spindles whereby in normal operating position the picking spindles extend in vertically spaced parallel relationship with the driving rollers in vertical alignment and on one side of the main body part, said members being disposed between adjacent pairs of the drive rollers, means carried by the extremity of each one of said members for journalling and retaining the adjacent end` portions of two spindles, means carried by the main body part forming ybearings for the adjacent journal portions of the spindles, each of said members including upwardly and downwardly faced arcuate walls e'ach conforming to a segment of a cylinder and each being in close spaced proximity with the adjacent periphery of the corresponding drive roller.

4. A slat assembly as in claim 3 in which each of said curved walls embraces substantially one-quarter of the circumference of an associated drive roller.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rust Apr. 27, 1948 Rust Apr. 10, 1951. Bramblett Feb. 9, 1954 Fergason Apr. 12, 1955 Keith et al. June 26, 1956 

